Balneotherapy (treatment through bathing) using naturally occurring carbonated water (springs containing CO2) is the most thoroughly studied technique in applied balneotherapeutics. Since ancient times, physicians have observed the positive effects of “carbon dioxide springs” for bathing and drinking. Systematic balneotherapies have been practiced for more than 120 years, for treating cardiovascular (high blood pressure), diabetes mellitus, arthritis and osteoporosis conditions without side effects.
In recent years, such treatments have become solidly grounded in the natural sciences, particularly through studies in Europe. For example, in the European Union, health insurance companies have been reimbursing such treatments prescribed by physicians since 1998. However, mineral-rich springs have begun to run dry in some places around the world. Reportedly, such waters began to lose their natural color 10 years ago.
Independent studies have shown that, for therapeutic purposes, the CO2 gas concentration in water needs to reach a higher level of at least 600-1000 ppm (parts per million). It has also been determined that the desired long-term effects can only be obtained through serial applications.
A key challenge for the effective therapeutic use of artificial carbonated waters has been keeping the CO2 in the water during the treatment periods. That is, preventing the CO2 from escaping by properly adjusting the concentration rate and evenly dispersing the CO2 has posed technological barriers.
This problem results from the fact that CO2 easily dissolves in water and is also easily emitted from water. These characteristics are evident upon opening carbonated drinks, such as beers or cokes. If one can artificially achieve higher concentrations (1,000 parts per million) of CO2, once can expect to benefit from similar effects on physiological functions as the above-described CO2 balneotherapy.
In general, however, the use of various gases such as CO2 in medicine have been minimally explored. It is known that gases are important biological messenger molecules, and well-known gases and new gas pre-mixes show promising biological effects. Furthermore, naturally occurring gases seem to have low toxicity profiles. Additionally, many scientists and researchers have increasingly been tackling the problem of delivering drugs, such as CO2 and other medical gases, through the skin. Such delivery needs to occur without the side effects associated, for example, with breaking the skin's natural barrier function.
Various conventional methods have been used to artificially produce carbonated spring and carbonic waters. U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,850 discloses a device for manufacturing carbonated springs, using hot water in a bath pumped up by a suction pump, as well as CO2 gas supplied from a CO2 gas cylinder, which are introduced into a CO2 gas dissolver having a membrane module. A gas flow rate adjusting means is used to obtain a carbonated spring with a high CO2 concentration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,111 discloses a circulation-type apparatus, involving a circulation pump and a carbonic acid gas dissolving apparatus, where the circulation pump is a diaphragm metering pump having a self-priming ability. A portable foot bath including similar features is also shown. However, the above-mentioned devices use relatively complicated structures, such as pumps and membrane type dissolvers, that are costly to manufacture and can be inconvenient to use for both commercial and home therapies.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-058745 A2 discloses a carbon dioxide treatment device having a carbon dioxide cylinder, a bag forming a space around a region to be treated, and a three-way valve is disposed on a tube between the cylinder and the bag. A suction pump for sucking the gas in the bag and discharging such gas to the outside is arranged on the valve. However, such an arrangement, as well as its disclosed variations, does not provide a convenient yet highly simple device requiring minimal parts, for repeatedly producing high concentrations of CO2, that is dispersed evenly for optimal transdermal deliveries of the CO2 without side effects.
Thus, there exists a need for an effective, simple and convenient means for artificially producing carbonated springs and carbonic waters, as well as mixtures involving various other medicinal and therapeutic gases, that is also cost effective to manufacture. As mentioned above, CO2 balneotherapy has been used to treat major conditions that affect hundreds of millions of people around the globe, such as osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes mellitus and a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Additionally, CO2 can have many other natural remedy effects, including, but not limited to, improving immunological responses and neurological functions, reducing swelling, increasing microvascular circulation and skin perfusion pressure, muscular strength, eliminating migraine headaches, etc.
Therefore, what is needed is a convenient, low cost means of mimicking and enhancing the many positive effects of CO2, as well as for administering other pharmaceutical medical or purified gases, for potential use in a wide range of applications in a wide variety of fields.